Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD, Financial) is a producer of oil and gas with significant positions in Texas in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale. A relatively sharp reversal in investor sentiment toward domestic oil during the first quarter afforded us the opportunity to begin building a position in Pioneer below $170 per share. We funded our PXD purchase via the sale of Southwestern Energy (SWN), effectively swapping into a more attractively priced producer with a clearer path to per share production and NAV growth. Pioneer's main area of investment – the horizontal redevelopment of the Northern Midland basin – generates some of the highest cash margins per barrel in North America. In many ways, Pioneer is the oil version of gas producer Range Resources (RRC), another Fund holding. It boasts a tremendous amount of visible, low-risk reserves with multiple shale layers available to exploit underneath the same acreage. Its financial flexibility and the Permian's more mature infrastructure base are additional advantages. We believe Pioneer's NAV is roughly $250/share.
From Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio)'s first quarter 2014 report.
